 |
英國將軍伯戈因 (Burgoyne) 在撒拉拖加 (Saratoga) 向美軍投降。
|
|
英國花了很多金錢在保護其殖民地不受到法國與其他國家的攻擊。因此，英國在國內徵收非常高的賦稅。他們也因此決定把一些財政負擔轉移給殖民地的人民。1765年通過的印花稅法案，要求對所有法律文件、報紙與其他文件加貼印花稅票，引起殖民地人民很大的不滿。雖然這項稅收在1776年被否決了，但是這只是英國政府與殖民地之間諸多問題的開端而已。舉例來說，1773年發生的波士頓茶會 (Boston
Tea Party) 抗爭事件就是當地人民反對英國及其在殖民地徵收茶稅而有的行動。
這些緊張衝突最後終於催生了1776年的獨立宣言。更早一年，獨立戰爭，也就是美國革命爆發。當英國在1781年10月19日投降時，美國人才真正脫離英國獨立，並且建立屬於自己的政府。
Defending the Colonies against attack by the French and others had cost the British a great deal of money. As a result, the British had very high taxes in their country. They thus decided to shift some of their financial burden to the colonists. The Stamp Act of 1765, which taxed all legal documents, newspapers and other documents, was met with a great uproar in the Colonies. In 1766, this tax was repealed, but it was just the beginning of the problems between the colonists and the British. The Boston Tea Party in 1773 was an act of revolt against the British and their tax on tea in the Colonies.
Tensions such as these eventually led to the writing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. A year earlier, the War of Independence, also known as the American Revolution, began. When the British finally surrendered on October 19, 1781, Americans were officially independent of Britain and set about establishing their own government.
|
|
  
|
